Apley Walled Garden artichokes – recipe idea

Matt, one of our chefs in the Creamery Café kitchen at Apley Farm Shop, just emailed me to say he will be putting on an Italian dish in the café tomorrow – spaghetti con carciofi (using Apley Walled Garden artichokes). He says the simple pasta flavours showcase the artichoke tastes very well. He’s also sent me this artichoke recipe, which includes at the end away of preserving them in the fridge for up to a week:

Chargrilled artichokes with lemon

20 baby globe artichokes or 10 larger ones

2 unwaxed lemons

125ml white wine vinegar

2 tbsp light olive oil

2 tsp mixed peppercorns

Sea salt flakes

500ml bottle light olive oil

Set a bowl of cold water to one side & squeeze into it the juice of one of the lemons.

To prepare the artichokes:

Remove the outer leaves with a small sharp knife. Keep going through the layers until you reach the paler, greenish-yellow leaves, then proceed to trim the stalks to about 5cm.

Cut the heads into quarters. As you prepare each one, rub all of its cut sides with one of the squeezed lemon halves (this stops discolouring).

In a large saucepan, bring a few inches of water to the boil. Add 100ml of the vinegar & the artichokes & simmer for 15-18 mins, depending on the size of the artichokes.

Heat a griddle pan over a medium heat until hot. Griddle the artichoke quarters, a few at a time, until golden & charred at the edges.

At this point, you can eat them straight away with a lemon mayonnaise also available from Apley Farm Shop. If not, you can keep them for up to a week in the fridge after following these steps:

Zest the other lemon.

In a saucepan, warm the olive oil, lemon zest & peppercorns together until the zest starts to sizzle. Fish it out with a slotted spoon once it turns bright yellow. Warm the remaining vinegar in another pan until almost boiling.

Pack the artichokes & lemon zest into jars or heatproof containers, pour over the warmed vinegar first & then top up with the warm oil to cover. Seal while warm, & then allow to cool. Keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.